Burying Stars
by Aerith Queen of Cetra
Summary: .:RikuxSora:. The little treasure was rotten now, the star shaped fruit was now a distasteful grey but the sentiments behind it were still as fresh as they were the moment it had been plucked.


_Title: _Burying Stars

_Author:_ Aerith Queen of Cetra

_Chapters_: 1/1

_Summary_: The little treasure was rotten now, the star shaped fruit was now a distasteful grey but the sentiments behind it were still as fresh as they were the moment it had been plucked.

_Genre: _(Fluffy)Romance

_Beta'd:_ Nu-uh!

_Warnings_: Shonen-ai (malexmale), fluff, flashbacks...

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kingdom Hearts, never ever ever ever ever... although, '_that_' scene in KH2 seemed VERY like something I'd create... O.o;

**Author's Comments:** I got/forced my friend to play Kingdom Hearts a LONG TIME ago and straight after I got an urge to write something. And I've only just posted it now? Sheesh, stupidness... -_-;;

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**Burying Stars**

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_May you never forget what is worth remembering, nor ever remember what is best forgotten._

- Irish Proverb -

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'_They say that if you share a Paopu fruit with the one you care about, your destinies will become intertwined forever...'_

It was a silly story, one which served to add only a little intrigue and romance to the otherwise boring and unromantic world they lived in, but to the young at heart, it was extremely special.

A young Riku, after hearing this story for the first time, had run off to the looming Paopu tree by the beach, wishing to see if the rumours were true.

Being a year older than the other boys, it was felt that he was 'more prepared' to accept the story than the rest of them. At least, that was what Riku had told himself upon hearing it. It made him feel rather privileged to know that, out of their small group, he was the only one who knew this fact about the little fruit.

So, being the pioneer of this theory, he had to test it.

It took _so_ _very_ _long_ to grab that _little_ fruit from the clouds, and he pondered that perhaps this fruit in particular wasn't really the best choice, as all the others looked plump and tasty whilst the one in his hand was a small, yellowish green colour that looked anything but tasty.

Riku sighed, closing his eyes and cursing his small stature. And then a laugh forced his eyes open.

That laugh was unmistakeably... Sora's. Sora's. _Sora's_. His greatest rival. His best friend. And the rightful owner of one half of the little gem in his hand.

Riku looked over his shoulder at the boy rolling on the beach, at Wakka and Tidus were pulling him along the sand by the back of his shirt and at how the indignant Sora flailed his limbs frantically like a fallen turtle.

Riku smiled and a small but ethereal laugh escaped his lips.

He turned back to the small Paopu fruit in his hand, it was still so soft, not ripe yet... not ready... and neither was the time for him to offer it to Sora in order to get a serious response.

But he knew one day, he would. So he made himself a promise, a promise that in the future, after growing another few centimetres, he would pick another Paopu, a _fresh_ Paopu. A great, big fruit that would taste _so_ good and mean _so_ much more.

And he formulated a plan. He crossed the bridge, not overly carefully, but he was still able to avoid detection as he ducked into a familiar wooden house, returning to the tree again with a small box in his hands.

Both hands dug around the small patch of grass in front of the tree and pulled at the dirt with all his strength, tearing chunks from the ground with great might spurred by a just cause until, finally, there was a gaping hole in the ground.

Taking in a deep breath and wiping the sweat from his forehead using the back of his now filthy hands, his aquamarine eyes turned to the guffawing heap on the sand behind him and noticed that both blitzball crazy boys had pinned poor Sora to the ground.

He shook his head and turned to the box in front of him, designed specifically by two best friends many weeks ago to look like a pirate's treasure chest. To the outsider, it was a pathetic and feeble attempt by two inexperienced little children, but to the two young boys, it was a sturdy, resilient and marvellous safe, ready to protect a great treasure that they would one day return to.

For now, it would protect this tiny gem representing a far greater treasure so that Riku would one day have the courage to award one of its descendants to his pirating pal.

The silver haired one kissed the soft fruit with a hopeful gleam under his closed eyelids and placed it in the chest, his fingers delicately caressing the edges of the velveteen insides of what was actually one of Sora's mother's old jewellery boxes before he placed it in the hole.

The dirt was pushed over and patted down and a heap of sand was trailed conspicuously across the upheaval, concealing the little secret.

A wooden sword , discarded many moments ago, was grabbed from the ground and Riku skidded across the bridge and leapt off of it, landing on the three-man heap of Tidus, Sora and Wakka. So it was a comfortable fall for Riku. And a miserable 'oomf' from Wakka who now sat at the bottom of the pile.

"_Riku_?! Where did _you_ come from?!"

"Nowhere you need to know about, slacker! You're letting these two beat you? Tch! You're hopeless!"

"Shut up, Riku! I could beat you _any_ day!"

"Ha ha, then_ bring it on_!"

As the two young boys fought an 'epic' battle against one another, under the light of a dying sun, the little chest sat patiently under the grass, mulling over the sweet little heart now sitting contently in its hollow ribs and wondering how long it would be until it would get to share its wondrous gift with the world...

* * *

"_Hey Riku. Do you remember that little chest we made years ago, when we were kids?"_

"_...The... pirate... chest?"_

"_Yeah. Do you remember what happened to it?"_

"_Hmm... well..."_

* * *

He stood before that same tree again, his hair a little longer, his body a little sleeker, his eyes... a lot older.

Riku knelt and placed an outstretched palm over the base of the tree, almost feeling the warmth of something underneath the unkempt grass.

His hands curled into shovels and dug through the dirt, grass, sand and stones until they hit something. Something big.

Those elegant fingers curled around the dark box, marred with years of dirt, soil and hope and pulled it to the surface.

Riku sat with it in front of him for several moments, marvelling at the pathetic craftsmanship and stunning... rubbish.

He smiled.

"_There_ it is."

Sora peeked over Riku's shoulder and blinked. "Why did you bury it under there?"

The silver haired one smiled again and opened the box.

Sora arched a single eyebrow and examined the insides. His nose wrinkled. Some kind of cluttered mulch, it looked almost like dirt, but smelt definitely...rancid.

So... The little treasure was rotten now, the star shaped fruit was now a distasteful grey but the sentiments behind it were still as fresh as they were the moment it had been plucked.

The lid closed again and Riku pushed it back into the hole.

He tilted around and placed a small, comforting kiss on Sora's lips before laughing and smiling one final time.

"No reason."

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Lol cheesy crap! Riku and Sora are so cute... when they're not trying to kill each other O.o;;

Oh well, reviews please? ^^


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